Conspiracy Theories in Turkey
Conspiracy Theories in Turkey

Author: Doğan Gürpınar

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-05-29

Total Pages: 158

ISBN-13: 042967046X

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Conspiracy theories are no longer just a curiosity for afficionados but a politically salient theme in the age of Trump, Brexit and "fake news". One of the countries that has been entrapped in conspiratorial visions is Turkey, and this book is the first comprehensive survey in English of the Turkish conspiratorial mind-set. It provides a nuanced overview of the discourses of Turkish conspiracy theorists and examines how these theorists argue for and legitimize their worldview. The author discusses a broad range of conspiracy theories, including some influenced by Kemalist and Islamist perspectives as well as those of the ruling Justice and Development Party. The most influential authors, books, references and images within the conspiracist milieu are all examined in detail. This book will be an important source for scholars interested in extremism in Turkey and the societal and political impact of conspiracy theories.

Conspiracy Theory in Turkey
Conspiracy Theory in Turkey

Author: Julian de Medeiros

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2018-05-21

Total Pages: 221

ISBN-13: 1838608184

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Turkey is witnessing an era of political upheaval. From the Gezi protests in 2013 to the attempted military coup of 2016, the concept of `post-truth' plays a significant role in Turkish politics today. In the chaos of conspiracy theories, hidden enemies and post-coup purges, the unreal merges with the real, fuelling political repression and anti-government sentiment alike. Julian de Medeiros here analyses the many unfolding challenges of Erdogan's New Turkey, and shows how a fixedly Turkish-style of `post-truth' has taken root. Examining the relationship between conspiracy theory and `post-truth', this book sheds light on the strategies of political paranoia that threaten to undermine the success of Turkey's democratic model. De Medeiros argues that both the Gezi protests and the failed coup attempt need to be considered alongside the emerging anti-democratic and conspiratorial tendencies of an increasingly authoritarian Turkish government. As Turkish democracy continues to evolve with breath-taking speed and unpredictable outcomes, de Medeiros shows how the rise of paranoid politics in Turkey constitutes part of a global trend towards post-truth narratives. He situates Turkish democracy as subject to a global resurgence of strongman leadership and antagonistic populism. Conspiracy Theory in Turkey presents the very first critical account of the Turkish model of a `post-truth politics'. Through a counter-intuitive analysis of conspiracy theory and paranoid politics the book disentangles the real from the unreal and chronicles the emergence of post-truth in Turkey today.

Conspiracy Theories in the United States and the Middle East
Conspiracy Theories in the United States and the Middle East

Author: Michael Butter

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2014-02-27

Total Pages: 388

ISBN-13: 3110338270

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Conspiracy Theories in the United States and the Middle East is the first book to approach conspiracy theorizing from a decidedly comparative and interdisciplinary perspective. Whereas previous studies have engaged with conspiracy theories within national frameworks only, this collection of essays draws attention to the fact that conspiracist visions are transnational narratives that travel between and connect different cultures. It focuses on the United States and the Middle East because these two regions of the world are entangled in manifold ways and conspiracy theories are currently extremely prominent in both. The contributors to the volume are scholars of Middle Eastern Studies, Anthropology, History, Political Science, Cultural Studies, and American Studies, who approach the subject from a variety of different theories and methodologies. However, all of them share the fundamental assumption that conspiracy theories must not be dismissed out of hand or ridiculed. Usually wrong and frequently dangerous, they are nevertheless articulations of and distorted responses to needs and anxieties that must be taken seriously. Focusing on individual case studies and displaying a high sensitivity for local conditions and the cultural environment, the essays offer a nuanced image of the workings of conspiracy theories in the United States and the Middle East.

The Oxford Handbook of Turkish Politics
The Oxford Handbook of Turkish Politics

Author: Güneş Murat Tezcür

Publisher:

Published: 2022

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9780190064914

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"Turkey is a country with a history of multiparty electoral competition going back to 1950, longer than many other nations in the world. Until recently, it was often perceived as a model country that showed the feasibility of democratic governance in a Muslim-majority society. However, the rise of religious-nationalist populism and sociopolitical polarization has resulted in an authoritarian turn that has stifled political liberalization. Turkish foreign policy has had strong linkages with the West but now exhibits a more independent and assertive position. Turkish national identity remains exclusionary as citizens not belonging to the dominant ethnic and religious groups face various levels of discrimination. Political violence persists in the forms of state repression, insurgent attacks, and terrorism; nevertheless, Turkish civil society continues to be resilient. The economy has exhibited sustained levels of growth, though it remains vulnerable to crises. The Oxford Handbook of Turkish Politics includes in-depth analyses of all these issues in conversation with the broader scholarly literature on authoritarianism and democratization, political economy, electoral politics, the politics of identity, social movements, foreign policy, and the politics of art. With contributions by leading experts, the handbook is an authoritative source offering state-of-the-art reviews of the scholarship on Turkish politics. The volume is an analytical, comprehensive, and comparative overview of contemporary politics in a country that literally and figuratively epitomizes "being at the crossroads.""--

Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories
Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories

Author: Michael Butter

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-02-17

Total Pages: 1090

ISBN-13: 0429840586

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Taking a global and interdisciplinary approach, the Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories provides a comprehensive overview of conspiracy theories as an important social, cultural and political phenomenon in contemporary life. This handbook provides the most complete analysis of the phenomenon to date. It analyses conspiracy theories from a variety of perspectives, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. It maps out the key debates, and includes chapters on the historical origins of conspiracy theories, as well as their political significance in a broad range of countries and regions. Other chapters consider the psychology and the sociology of conspiracy beliefs, in addition to their changing cultural forms, functions and modes of transmission. This handbook examines where conspiracy theories come from, who believes in them and what their consequences are. This book presents an important resource for students and scholars from a range of disciplines interested in the societal and political impact of conspiracy theories, including Area Studies, Anthropology, History, Media and Cultural Studies, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology.

Conspiracy Theories and the People Who Believe Them
Conspiracy Theories and the People Who Believe Them

Author: Joseph E. Uscinski

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2018-10-16

Total Pages: 537

ISBN-13: 0190844108

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Conspiracy theories are inevitable in complex human societies. And while they have always been with us, their ubiquity in our political discourse is nearly unprecedented. Their salience has increased for a variety of reasons including the increasing access to information among ordinary people, a pervasive sense of powerlessness among those same people, and a widespread distrust of elites. Working in combination, these factors and many other factors are now propelling conspiracy theories into our public sphere on a vast scale. In recent years, scholars have begun to study this genuinely important phenomenon in a concerted way. In Conspiracy Theories and the People Who Believe Them, Joseph E. Uscinski has gathered forty top researchers on the topic to provide both the foundational tools and the evidence to better understand conspiracy theories in the United States and around the world. Each chapter is informed by three core questions: Why do so many people believe in conspiracy theories? What are the effects of such theories when they take hold in the public? What can or should be done about the phenomenon? Combining systematic analysis and cutting-edge empirical research, this volume will help us better understand an extremely important, yet relatively neglected, phenomenon.

The Hidden Hand
The Hidden Hand

Author: Daniel Pipes

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 0312176880

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A noted Middle East specialist looks at conspiracy theories and the way they control life and politics in the region.

The Dönme
The Dönme

Author: Marc Baer

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 0804768676

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This is the first study of the modern history, experience, and ethno-religious identity of the Dönme, the descendants of seventeenth-century Jewish converts to Islam, in Ottoman and Greek Salonica and in Turkish Istanbul.

Erdogan's Empire
Erdogan's Empire

Author: Soner Cagaptay

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2019-09-19

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 1786726343

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Gradually since 2003, Turkey's autocratic leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to make Turkey a great power -- in the tradition of past Turkish leaders from the late Ottoman sultans to Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey. Here the leading authority Soner Cagaptay, author of The New Sultan -- the first biography of President Erdogan -- provides a masterful overview of the power politics in the Middle East and Turkey's place in it. Erdogan has picked an unorthodox model in the context of recent Turkish history, attempting to cast his country as a stand-alone Middle Eastern power. In doing so Turkey has broken ranks with its traditional Western allies, including the United States and has embraced an imperial-style foreign policy which has aimed to restore Turkey's Ottoman-era reach into the Arabian Middle East and the Balkans. Today, in addition to a domestic crackdown on dissent and journalistic freedoms, driven by Erdogan's style of governance, Turkey faces a hostile world. Ankara has nearly no friends left in the Middle East, and it faces a threat from resurgent historic adversaries: Russia and Iran. Furthermore, Turkey cannot rely on the unconditional support of its traditional Western allies. Can Erdogan deliver Turkey back to safety? What are the risks that lie ahead for him, and his country? How can Turkey truly become a great power, fulfilling a dream shared by many Turks, the sultans, Ataturk, and Erdogan himself?

Impossible Knowledge
Impossible Knowledge

Author: Todor Hristov

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-01-15

Total Pages: 133

ISBN-13: 0429749376

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Conspiracy theorists claim impossible knowledge, such as knowledge of the doings of a secret world government. Yet they accept this impossible knowledge as truth. In effect, conspiracy theories detach truth from knowledge. Knowledge without power is powerless. And the impossible knowledge claimed by conspiracy theorists is rigorously excluded from the regimes of truth and power – that is not even wrong. Yet conspiratorial knowledge is potent enough to be studied by researchers and recognized as a risk by experts and authorities. Therefore, in order to understand conspiracy theories, we need to think of truth beyond knowledge and power. That is impossible for any scientific discipline because it takes for granted that truth comes from knowledge and that truth is powerful enough to destroy the legitimacy of any authority that would dare to conceal or manipulate it. Since science is unable to make sense of conspiracy theories, it treats conspiracy theorists as individuals who fail to make sense, and it explains their persistent nonsense by some cognitive, behavioral, or social dysfunction. Fortunately, critical theory has developed tools able to conceive of truth beyond knowledge and power, and hence to make sense of conspiracy theories. This book organizes them into a toolbox which will enable students and researchers to analyze conspiracy theories as practices of the self geared at self-empowerment, a sort of political self-help.